When TAC shareholder Nick McDonald nearly missed the birth of his second child because of a challenging work schedule, he knew a career change was on the horizon. Although making good money working on the slope at the time, Nick wanted his children to grow up surrounded by both parents – to do that, though, he needed a career that would give him more control.
So, Nick made a bold move: In 2011, he and his partner at the time started a business.
“We had about $20,000 saved up,” he tells us, “and I wanted to start either a coffee shop or a screen-printing company. Sometimes I think about what would have happened if we picked the coffee, but I’m so happy doing this I can’t really imagine doing something else anymore.”
Nick grew up in Unalaska, but by then had been living in Anchorage for several years – a town renowned for topping the National Coffee Association’s list of US cities with the highest number of coffee-shops-per-capita. So, he decided on the screen-printing idea and called it “Big Dipper Clothing Company.” At the time, Big Dipper was the only Native-owned screen-printing company in the state that did actual screen-printing on-site.
He got started by watching videos on how to do screen-printing. “I’m YouTube-trained,” Nick says with a laugh.
“I spent $9,000 on supplies, and a little while later, some boxes showed up, and I got started.”
It was a tough learning curve at times. Some of the little company’s first jobs were for local softball teams, but when Big Dipper got its first big job, a small but costly mistake turned into a valuable learning opportunity for Nick.
In the process of making 350 hoodie sweatshirts for an out-of-town event, the white ink of the hoodie’s main design turned pink. Though the client was gracious and said they would be happy to take the mis-colored hoodies, Nick worked hard and fast to remake them with the correct ink and coloring and got them to the client just before the event began.
“I would not let my mess-ups on the street,” Nick says. “I’m big on maintaining excellence in my work, and I couldn’t let something that wasn’t up to my standards be out in the world representing me and this company. You know, it took me six years to use up those 350 pink hoodies as rags! But not a single one went to waste.”
Though that initial lesson was a hard one to learn, he didn’t let the experience derail him. That sense of hard work, honesty, and dedication to doing things right were ingrained in Nick by his Elders. Growing up in Unalaska, Nick was accustomed to helping his father, a commercial fishing boat captain. In addition, at the very young age of 8, Nick began working for his uncle’s welding business. The hoodie mishap was an important step in his professional learning process, and Nick came away from it with several important lessons he would apply to the business as he moved forward.
“Make sure you’re using the right products for the job,” Nick tells us.
“Do your research! Also, don’t rush too much. Slow down, and do it right. Ask questions if you need to.”
These lessons have served Nick well, and the business grew rapidly. His then wife was great at business matters, and she did much of the formal networking to find new customers for Big Dipper. Once that initial connection was struck and Nick got the opportunity to speak face-to-face with clients, he loved it – building those personal relationships was how he was able to acquire long-term clients.
“My uncle mentored me about hard work, about doing an honest job and telling customers the truth,” Nick says. “I think that’s why clients have stuck with me during hard times: because I was honest and told them the truth – and because of it, they helped me during COVID, too. They placed orders during lockdown, so I was just waiting to go back to do work for them.”
When opportunity struck to change the company name, Nick knew that the Kraken was where his future lay waiting. The Kraken, an enormous sea creature of legend with tentacles longer than a ship’s mast and a wickedly dangerous maw for a mouth, was the nickname Nick and his friends had given his big printing machine. The cables and cords draping around and atop the press reminded his friends of the legendary creature’s lengthy appendages, and the open and closing of the press they likened to its hungry mouth.
To add more wood to the fire, even Nick’s softball name is The Kraken – though he tells us this nickname predates his affinity for screen-printing. So, it was obvious he needed to continue the trend, and Big Dipper Clothing Company became Kraken Shirt Co.
It’s not simply a new name, though. The company today has evolved significantly since its humble beginning. Three years ago, Kraken Shirt Co. celebrated its 100,000th print job.
“Being well-known helps out a lot,” Nick says. “I still have to hustle for work, but having guaranteed jobs that will come through during the slower times is nice. In those early days, I had to make a lot of cold-calls, and I hit the street and get out and talk to people.”
“This work is hard because I have four kids, ages 17, 14, 9, and 7 – a big spread in age – and trying to be a business owner with kids can be difficult. We ran this business out of our house for the first four years, and it was tough. So, moving to that first shop was awesome.”
Nick is in the process of merging with another small company that has employees to do all the prep work, which will free Nick up to focus more on business development and, perhaps nearer to his heart, more community involvement.
More than anything, Nick loves helping people with their artistic vision.
“Somebody comes in with an idea on a sticky note, and you bring it to life,” he tells us.
“Everyone gets the same treatment, regardless of whether they are ordering a single shirt or 1,000. The look on people’s faces when I create something for them is amazing. I love it.”
“I’ve had elementary classes come to the shop and design their own shirts. And when someone passes away, me doing this allows me to just embrace them and get the job done for family deaths. No rush fees or anything, just whatever they need. I do what I can to get them through that difficult time because anything helps, you know? That is important to me.”
His advice to other Unangax̂ entrepreneurs is, “Don’t be afraid to fail or do what’s right for you. Just go for it. Make sure you’re doing something you like. You might not like it right away, but push through to get through the sludge and you may just find that it is something you actually love in the end. Try to find something that makes you smile.”
Nick’s attitude has earned him a long list of very loyal clients. One client in Unalaska had been using an out-of-state printer but tried Kraken Shirt Co. for a small job several years ago. She came back again and again. Recently, she told Nick, “You never fail me, and I’m sticking with you.”